Burial vault



Patented Apr. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT @FREE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a burial vault which is preferably made of water-proof concrete. The vault is also provided with a cover which is also preferably made of water-proof concreteI and a joint of a plastic sealing composition is interposed between the cover and the Vault itself when the cover is in place.

The invention will be understood from the description in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, showing an illustrative embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the device with the cover in a partially open position; Fig. 3 is a section, partly broken away, on a larger scale showing some of the details; and Fig. 4 is a similar section showing a modiiication.

In the drawing reference character l indicates the body or main portion of the vault that is provided with ends 2, sides 3, and a bottom 4, some or all of which may be made of concrete reinforced as indicated by the reference character d', and the concrete or other material out of which the vault is made may be water-proofed in any of the well known ways.

The vault is provided with a top 5 having a =meta1 band 6 extending all the way around the cover with its lower edge extending a short distance below the main portion of the cover. This band may be retained in place in any well known way, which is not necessary to describe, as the retaining means for this band is no part of the present invention.

A groove or recess 1 is provided along the inner sides of the upper edges of the walls. This groove or recess 'l is V-shaped having a vertically disposed side ii and an upwardly inclined side 9 so that the point or tip of the groove is the lowest portion thereof, for a purpose to be described below.

The cover 5 is provided with a downwardly projecting extension il extending all the way around the cover and spaced a short distance from the band 6. The extension Il corresponds in shape to the groove 'l having a surface l2 substantially parallel to the side of the band 6 and a sloping surface I3.

A sealing composition I4, such as asphalt or thermoplastic bituminous material, for example, is placed along' the lower side of the cover entirely around the same in the space between the band 6 and the extension or projection Il before the cover is put in place.

When the cover is put in place the sealing composition flows or spreads so as to seal the joint between the cover and the upper edges of the vault l. The distance between the inner edge of the band 6 and the surface i2 of the extension ll is greater than the distance across the upper edges l of the vault between the 5 groove l and the outer edge, as most clearly shown in Fig. 2. When the cover is put in place the sealing composition is squeezed into place and compressed in thegroove l and packed by the weight of the cover settling down se that the tightly packed seal will prevent the entrance of water into the vault even if water should enter between the top edge l of the vault and the cover 5. The danger of the sealing composition escaping or drizzling out of the joint and destroying its 15 effectiveness in time is avoided. Experience has shown that heat developed inside the vault after interment causes the sealing composition to escape along the inside surfaces of the vault heretofore used resulting in objectionable appear- 20 ance when such a vault is subsequently opened. By providing the upwardly sloping surface 9 the sealing composition is prevented from flowing over the lip and escaping into the inside of the Vault of the present invention, thus making a safe and reliable seal and avoiding the objections that are present with other vaults. Space is left between the sides of the groove 'l and the Walls of the extension l i when the cover is in place to retain or accommodate the seal- 30 ing composition which is squeezed into the groove and becomes packed in this groove at great pressure and can never get out. Surplus sealing composition is squeezed to the outside of the vault, or remains as a layer or sort of gasket between the edges of the vault and the cover, as shown at M.

By having the periphery of the inside of the band 6 larger than the periphery of the upper edge of the vault l spaces are left all the way 40 around for the sealing composition to flow slightly, as indicated at l5 (Fig. 3), and this Space also renders it convenient to catch hooks into it after the cover has been lowered in the grave, thus making it easy to determine that the cover has been properly placed on the vault. Also, if the cover 5 should be lowered in such a position that the edge l'l of the extension il should come to rest upon the flat portion i of the edge of the vault l the covert can be moved laterally so that the extension il would enter the groove l, thus enabling the cover to be correctly placed with certainty.

In the modification shown in Fig. e the sides of the groove 'l and the corresponding sides of 55 the extension H of the cover are in parallel so that when the surface of the cover, as indicated at I8, comes into contact with the edge I9 of the groove the sealing composition is locked in the space 2| between the sides of the groove 1 and the corresponding surfaces of the cover 5. The parts should preferably be so proportioned that when the surface I8 of the cover contacts with the edge I9 of the vault the surface 22 of the cover will be in contact, or approximately in contact with the top surface of the portion l of the vault. Instead of having the surface 23 of the cover parallel, or substantially parallel, with the corresponding surface of the groove 1, this surface 23 may slope away from the other surface in a downward direction, thus providing a larger cavity within which the sealing composition can be pressed between the cover and edge of the vault, if desired.

In order to have the upper edges of the vault sufficiently thick so as to possess the desired strength and still have room enough to provide the groove 'l and still not require too much material, the portions of the walls of the vault a little distance below their upper edges may be made thinner, as indicated at 24.

I claim:

1. In a burial vault, .a box open at the top having a groove along the inner sides of its upper edges with a vertically disposed side and an upwardly inclined side, and a cover having a similarly shaped projection extending into said groove, said projection ending below the tops of said vault when said cover is in place.

2. In a burial vault, a box open at the top having a groove along the inner sides of its upper edges with a vertically disposed side and an upwardly inclined side, a cover having a similarly shaped projection extending into said groove, said, projection ending below the tops of said vault when said cover is in place, and a sealing composition between said cover and the upper edges of said box.

3. In a burial vault, a box open at the top having a groove along the inner sides of its upper edges with a vertically disposed side and an upwardly inclined side, a cover having a similarly shaped projection extending into said groove, said projection ending below the tops of said vault when said cover is in place, a sealing composition between said cover and the upper edges of said box, and a band around said cover extending below the upper edges of said box.

4. In a burial vault, a box open at the top having a groove along the inner sides of its upper edges with a vertically disposed side and an upwardly inclined side, a cover having a similarly shaped projection extending into said groove, said projection ending below the tops of said vault when said cover is in place, a sealing composition between said cover and the upper edges of said box, said sealing composition extending into spaces adjacent said vertically disposed side of said groove.

5. In a burial vault, a box open at the top having a groove along the inner sides of its upper edges with a vertically disposed side and an upwardly inclined side, a cover having a similarly shaped projection extending into said groove, said projection ending below the tops of said vault when said cover is in place, a sealing composition between said cover and the upper edges of said box, a band around said cover extending below the upper edges of said box,

the perimeter of the vertically disposed portion of said projection being less than that of said vertically disposed side.

6. In a burial vault, a box open at the top having a groove along the inner sides of its upper edges with a vertically disposed side and an upwardly inclined side, a cover having a similarly shaped projection extending into said groove, a sealing composition between said cover and the upper edges of said box, a band around said cover extending below the upper edges of said box, the perimeter of the vertically disposed portion of said projection being less than that of said vertically disposed side and the perimeter of the inside surface of said band being greater than that of the outer sides of said upper edges.

'7. In a burial Vault, a box open at the top having a groove along the inner sides of its upper edges with a vertically disposed side and an upwardly inclined side, and a cover having an extension projecting into said groove and adapted to compress a sealing composition in said groove, said projection ending below the tops of said vault when said cover is in place.

8. In a burial vault, a box open at the top having a groove along the inner sides of its upper edges with a vertically disposed side and an upwardly inclined side, and a cover having an extension projecting into said groove and adapted to compress a sealing composition in said groove, said projection ending below the top of said vault when said cover is in place, with a portion of said cover preventing said composition from escaping from said groove.

FRED J. MEAD. 

